Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Quality
Review: I just received this camera on friday and I have not been able to stop playing with it. This camera offers great quality at a reasonable price. The 32mb card is a bit of a joke, so I recomend purchasing a 128mb stick when you get the camera. The pros.
With the 32mb card at the 640 X 480 resolution you can take hundreds of pictures. The camera evens tells you how many more pictures you can take with the current resolution. And it had a metter to show you how much of the memory stick you have left. Also the hologram focus allows you to get a perfect picture almost every time. What happens is the camera emits this cross hatch pattern on the subject for a split second to allow the camera to focus at 5 different points giving your pictures the utmost clarity. The night shot and night framing are a wonderful additon. With the night shot you can literally take pictures in complete darkness. The only down side to this is that your pictures have a green hue and it makes a person look like a ghost. But thats not an issue with night framing. With night framing you can still take pictures in a no-light situation, but the picture comes out as if you took it in broad daylight. The movie mode. The sound quality isn't the best, but hey its a camera not a camcorder. With the 128mb card and the resolution set to the second highest(i can't remember the exact resolution) you can take a 25 min movie. Not to shabby for a mainly still camera. Ease of use is not even a concern with in 5 minutes of powering the camera on I was able to do more than take simple pictures. I was able to play with the picture effects (sepia, neg. art, solorize) and several of the other features with out having to look at the owners manual(which is very nice and detailed). The only other effect that I wish it had but doesn't is Balck and white that would have completed the picture effects (for me at least). The software provided is a breeze. Once installed it does all the work for you. I have WIN XP PRO and WIN 2K and the camera had NO problems interfacing with either OS. All you have to do is plug the camera in to the USB port and Image Transfer automatically copies the pictures over for you.
Cons: I do wish it did have a better zoom, sometimes its hard to get pictures that are far away, but you can get a telephoto lense for this. Other than the one con the camera is great. Battery time is amazing on a little over 2 hour charge you get 4 solid hours of continuous shooting. Of course no one does that, but on one charge I took over 600 pictures and still had over half the battery. Of course most of the pictures were random since I was playing with the functions. Any one looking for a wonderful camera to last them a long, long time will definately want to check this one out. I also bought the stamina pack from sony, but I haven't recieved that yet. This comes with a lens filter to prevent too much light from overwhelming the camera, an extra battery, and a soft carrying case. Over all great camera.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic product
Review: I did my usual research at amazon, dpreview, etc etc and decided on this one and have used it for almost a year. Even if the 828 is out and this one is kind of a relic, I cannot imagine needing anything more than this in a digcam and want to recommend it specifically because there would be lots of used units at great prices now in the market. What are the best things about it? Just read all the issues with the Nikon 5700 (my comparison is mainly with the Nikon, which I have used). The 717 outscores the Nikon in all those areas (excellent autofocus, not clumsy to handle, very fast response time, and simply the best battery - 300 pics without a problem - i charge my battery once a fortnight if even). Picture quality is fantastic. I am not a pro, and I do not need anything more than the quality and crispness that this camera offers. But the biggest plus, I think, is its great quality in "auto" mode. My friends can simply aim and shoot and get a great result - all of us typically take a lot of pictures at fun times, and aim n shoot quality really matters at those times. What else? Excellent flash quality. I also love the way the lens bends up and down - I used it to great effect when shooting a wedding - it gives you angle flexibility that no camera can match. It's also extremely sturdy, and I really love the way it stays in the grip. Lastly, the Carl Zeiss lens is of superb quality and the 5X optical zoom is more than I can ever need. Negatives? Maybe a couple. Initially, I found a lot of pics, particularly in bright sunlight, to be either milky or bluish. This can be solved by using the white meter optimally as well as by managing exposure well, and also with filters - I just needed to spend some time with the camera. Also, the camera necessarily needs a U/V filter (not a big deal for $20). Like many others I was hesitant to choose a Sony over Nikon and Canon, but clearly in the non-SLR class, Sony is teaching the pro companies a lesson or two. Overall, great buy, simply the best in its class - probably barring the 828 which I have not used.
Rating:
Summary: A great digital camera
Review: Pro:
* Preforms well in low light even without a flash.
* 5x optical zoom
* The ability to manually focus
* Controls easy to navigate
* Excellent picture quality
* Special settings such as sepia
* Three burst mode for action or hard to capture shots (Beware of long write time before you can take pictures again if you are using a high resolution setting)
* Manual control of white balance allows for color correction
* The battery life is really good (however if you plan a long day of picture taking an extra battery is essential)
* Ability to manually set shutter and / or aperture Cons:
* On high resolution can take a while to write to
* Bulky compared to a lot of other digital cameras (but not so much so when compared to a good 35mm)
* Memory sticks have historically cost more than other digital cards but I find that prices have come down significantly
* Sony really should ship this camera with a 128MB memory stick. The 32 it comes with captures only a few pictures at a high resolution. Things I would recommend to get along with the camera * Extra memory sticks.
* Memory stick case
* A UV filter. You don't need to get the one that Sony makes for the camera. Any 58mm-thread filter will work.
* Tripod
* Sony's shutter remote
* A Neoprene camera strap
* Extra batteries This is a great camera and I would recomend it even over the 827.
Rating:
Summary: I LOVE IT
Review: IM NOT A PHOTOGRAPHER BY NO MEANS. BUT I LIKE TO HAVE A CAMERA AROUND TO TAKE PICTURES WHENEVER I CAN EITHER OF MY BOYS OR BEFORE AND AFTERS OF PROJECTS AT THE HOUSE. I ACTUALLY GOT A CARRYING CASE FOR IT AND ACC. I TAKE IT EVERYWHERE I GO. ALSO GOT A PRINTER TO GO WITH IT. WHAT WONDERFUL PICTURE THAT I CAN TAKE. IMAGINE IF I KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT TAKING A PICTURE WHAT I COULD DO. A FRIEND HAS SAME CAMERA AND HE FEELS THE SAME WAY.
Rating:
Summary: Great Camera
Review: Awesome camera, takes excellent pictures and it looks stunningly beautiful and appealing, wherever i go people inquire about it.....and the pictures that i take with it never disappoints. I read about many people talking about it strange barrel lens that makes holding it difficult but i believe it is very well designed and it fits in comfortably in my hands.....battery life is just awesome, it just keeps on going and going.....response time(after u click) is bit slower but much better than many other digital camera which i have seen, unless u think that u will be very often in a position where u really need to take real quick pics, this camera should do the job for u.....if one have to write about this camera's great features it will easily extend to many pages....gist of all is this a beautiful camera which takes stunningly beautiful shots-no matter what the conditions are and erybdy in my famly loves it....GREAT CAMERA!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Good Camera
Review: Not as good as their 8 megapixel camera, but still good value for an amateur. For most people, the difference between the two resolutions won't be noticed. The camera has many of the features of it's high-priced brother, and still has the same flexibility of letting you decide how much control to exercise over exposure and focus.
Rating:
Summary: I love it!
Review: I LOVE this camera! It is quite easy to use right out of the box; but your pictures just get better and better as you read the manual and learn to do all that this camera is capable of! I get great pictures up to 11x14 and beyond. People are always stunned by how crystal clear my portraits are and how wonderful the colors come through.
My one caution is be careful with the zoom. If you do not turn off the digital zoom, you can use it without realizing you are using it and your pictures can be somewhat grainy. When I turn the digital zoom off, I get amazingly clear pictures every time. I bought this camera with a package of lenses and other accessories for $1,500 so I would definitely recommend it at this new LOWER price!
Rating:
Summary: Very good not excellent
Review: I have been using the camera about for 2 years. Excellent quality of pictures, excellent quality of printed big size photos, wonderful optics - all of these are true (I'm a very picky person for quality of photos). But once I found myself in situation when this camera was virtually useless. I needed to take pictures of fast moving objects in low light condition. It was a dancing competition. That was only a case when I could not make any satisfactory pictures with SONY DSCF717 camera.
Rating:
Summary: Great camera, slow response...
Review: I've owned this camera for over a year now. I'm in the advertising business and if you could work with prints under 9 x 12 at high resolution this is a great equipment for you. Good resolution, GREAT color output, decent flash coverage, and night framing in low light situation is simply a picture saver.
Just one significant con. If you need to take quick situation pictures in low light situations or places where there are several alternate light sources, be patient... it might simply never take the shot. Heard this same commentary from a colleague who owns the newer version of this camera, the Sony DSC-F828 8MP. I have lost some great shots in graduations and weddings just because it didn't focus well, even though the Hologram AF feature is constantly on and subjects are just a few feet away.
Overall it is simply a superb equipment and I have capture memorable images with it, but lost one star due to this frustrating glitch.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent camera for the money
Review: I bought this camera a year ago and have not been disappointed. I'm an amateur, but this camera produces professional results. My only complaint is the size of the camera (it's quite large), but I like the design and it has a ton of features. To see some examples of my F717 pics, visit www.keith-dc.smugmug.com
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